A stranded yacht with five people on board had to be rescued after running aground off the Thanet coast.

The 12-metre vessel got stuck on the Margate Sands, two miles out to sea, while travelling to Ramsgate yesterday morning.

The boat was unable to refloat immediately and issued a mayday call to the coastguard before alerting Margate RNLI.

The station's all weather boat, Leonard Kent, launched to the stricken yacht and arrived within 15 minutes.

A spokesman for the station said: "The tide was in the last hour of the ebb and as the weather was fine it was decided not to attempt an immediate refloating but to wait for the flood tide.

"The lifeboat remained on scene and reassured the yacht’s crew who were uninjured and well equipped, all wearing lifejackets and with suitable life-saving equipment to hand."

When the tide rose, crews threw a towline to the casaulty pulling it off the sandbank and into deeper water.

The boat's crew checked for damage and continued their voyage from Queenborough.

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